USAF is Testing the Deadliest Rapid Dragon Bomb

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USAF is Testing the Deadliest Rapid Dragon Bomb


The US air force wants to get a lot of firepower airborne quickly, giving a radically new mission profile to american transports. The united states air force rapid dragon program successfully completed its first live-fire weapons test, bringing two years of testing and development to a close. 

The rapid dragon palletized weapon system is in essence palletized cruise missiles stored in racks aboard cargo and transport planes.

The air force tested the rapid dragon concept earlier this month at eglin air force base in the western florida panhandle. The test involved loading a cruise missile flight test vehicle and several dummy missiles aboard a pallet rigged with a parachute.

Air dropping palletized cargoes is not new to the air force, which literally rolls them out the back of the plane via the cargo ramp, once the pallet exits the plane a parachute deploys and the pallet floats gently to earth.

Rapid dragon is different from the standard pallet drop. As the pallet descends it orients its missile cargo nose down, the missiles fall out of their containers pointing straight down, the descent allows the missile's turbine engines to spin up the wings to deploy and the missile to proceed to the target.

Rapid dragon is designed to fit in a six-pack palette for smaller C-130J super hercules transport planes and a 9-pack for larger, longer-range C-17 globemaster 3s. AC 130J has a cargo section length of 41 feet well the pallet.

In addition to a parachute each pallet is equipped with a control module that feeds target data to the missiles. Aircrews will be able to load target data into planes mid-flight allowing for changes in plans as the battle rages on. 

The main missile envisioned for rapid dragon is the am 158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Munition Extended Range (JASSMR). JASSMR is a stealthy land attack cruise missile capable of penetrating defended airspace, flying around enemy defenses to strike targets with a 1000 pound WDU-42B penetrating warhead. the missile has a range of 621 miles.

Rapid dragon turns air force transports into bombers but the transformation isn't perfect. transport planes are not stealthy and are vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles and enemy fighters. JASSMR's long range will allow the transports to launch their missiles at a considerable distance from enemy defenses helping ensure the plane's survival.

The program is part of a radical plan by the air force to give long-range cargo and transport aircraft at potent defensive capability. If successful, it could allow battlefield commanders to quickly get a large number of long-range standoff munitions in the air at short notice. 

Though transport aircraft typically lack serious offensive, systems rapid dragon seeks to improve their lack of firepower especially relevant to hypothetical battle space, say one defined by long distances like the indo-pacific and in contrast to earlier tests. This most recent test used a live munition rather than a mass simulator.

The air force research laboratory explained that during the december live fire test, an air force special operations command flight crew received new targeting data while in flight, which was then routed to the cruise missile flight test vehicle.

The aircraft agnostic battle management system's in-flight received an upload of the new targeting data into the cruise missile flight test vehicle was a first-time achievement with a live cruise missile.

These lethal devices were called rapid dragon carts. today the rapid dragon concept is changing the game again this time as an airborne delivery system for US air force weapons and like its namesake these palletized munitions promised to unleash mighty salvos on moss on distant adversaries.

The air force validated the rapid dragon palletized mentioned concept over five flights in three different kinds of aircraft and further testing is anticipated in spring of 2022 on other aircraft types.

Interestingly, the rapid dragon program name is derived from a thousand-year-old chinese military designed crossbow catapult that launched multiple crossbow bolts with a pull of a single trigger, raining destruction down on armies from tremendous ranges the air force statement explains.


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